The Devils: Blue Collar Hockey

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How many times have we heard an NHL player answer an interviewer’s question: Work hard, good things will happen. This year’s edition of the New Jersey Devils is putting on a clinic on that standard response, the work ethic. Led by Marty Brodeur, Zach Parise, Andy Greene, David Clarkson, Travis Zajac and rookie Niclas Bergfors, the Devils are 13-2-0 in their last fifteen and sit comfortably on top of their division.

Brodeur is an established superstar while Parise, whose reputation on the team is “the hardest working guy in hockey”, is edging closer to that elite SS status. But what of these other guys?

Andy Greene - shooting star

Andy Greene, in his third NHL season, started the season as a healthy scratch. Once inserted into the lineup however, his star began to shine. Andy’s puck-carrying skills earned him an instant spot on the power play. His smooth-skating blue-line style made him Lemaire’s go-to guy on defense. When Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya went down due to injuries, Greene stepped up to average twenty-seven minutes a game. In fourteen games he has 3 goals and six assists and leads the Devils’ defensemen in scoring – a solid new D whose game has matured.

David Clarkson, a consummate blue-collar guy, had another super-productive week, scoring a goal in each of the last four games. On Wednesday, in a 4-1 win over Anaheim, Clarkson scored a highlight goal, taking a blue-line to blue-line pass from Andy Greene, going one-on-one on James Wisniewski, toe-dragging the puck past him and firing the winning goal past Jonas Hiller. I know it was highlight material because I was in Toronto all week and watched it featured as ‘highlight of the day’ on TSN. Clarkson is 6/8 for 14 points with 31 PIMs in 17 games this season. Work hard, good things will happen.

Travis Zajac - May/June preview?

Travis Zajac, who emerged as the team’s #1 center last year, has again moved his game up a notch or two this year. Teamed again with Zach Parise, Travis is 6/10 for 16 points in 17 games while Zach is 9-12/21. Zajak has also emerged as a fine two-way player, combining profuse scoring with scrappy play deep in his own end, contributing big-time to the defense. Both graduates of the University of North Dakota, they lead the Devils in scoring.

Rookie sensation Niclas Bergfors, who has carried his lunch pail to work in Lowell for the last two years, is showing the results of that apprenticeship in the scoring column. Against the Caps last week Bergfors scored twice, the tying and the winning goals. His performance in this time of crisis may just have won him a permanent place in the NHL.

“What crisis?” you may ask. The Devils have five regulars on the IR including Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya, considered their top defense pair. In the last seven games the Devils have allowed only nine goals, Marty Brodeur is 5-0-0, with a 1.38 GAA and a .944 save pct. avg. Forwards Jay Pandolfo, Rob Niedermayer and Brian Rolston are sitting out their injuries as the team rolls on to victory after victory.

The Devils system is based in many ways on the old-time Montreal Canadiens “team play” system that won twenty-four Stanley Cups. Somewhere up there Frank Selke is looking down on Lou Lamoriello and smiling his approval.

Did I say Stanley Cup?

Photo Credits: Team (Hazboy/Flickr); Andy Greene (Hazboy/Flickr); Travis Zajac (muls96/flickr).